


To Have And To Hold

by bella8876



Series: 30 days of Sterek drabbles [21]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Magic!Stiles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-09
Updated: 2013-04-09
Packaged: 2017-12-07 23:48:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/754527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bella8876/pseuds/bella8876
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The coven had come to Beacon Hills with their sights set on the Hale territory, more specifically the ley lines that cut through the Hale territory, intersecting directly under the newly rebuilt Hale house.  The pack had managed to hold their ground so far but just barely. The witches were older, stronger, and had nothing to lose.</p>
            </blockquote>





	To Have And To Hold

**Author's Note:**

> Day 21 of 30 days of Sterek
> 
> Prompt: "Can you hold it?"

“They’re coming,” Derek said, eyes wide as he emerged from the woods. “Are you ready?” 

“Get in the house,” Stiles said without looking up. He could feel Derek hesitate. “I’ve done this hundred times,” Stiles reminded him. “You’ve watched me do this a hundred times.” 

“But not—“ Derek bit his lip. _Not like this, not this big, not against them._

The witches had come to Beacon Hills with their sights set on the Hale territory, more specifically the ley lines that cut through the Hale territory, intersecting directly under the newly rebuilt Hale house. The pack had managed to hold their ground so far but just barely. The witches were older, stronger, and had nothing to lose. 

“Can you hold it?” Derek asked.

“I—“ Stiles finally looked up at Derek, swallowing hard. He hated that he had to ask, wanted to just believe, but the way Stiles hesitated made something in Derek’s chest clench. 

Stiles had spent years working with Deaton until he perfected his protection shields. But he’d never tried one on this scale and never using this much power. Deaton gave him a crash course on ley line magic when they finally realized what the Coven was after but ley lines took years to master properly and even if Stiles managed to tap into the power, there was no guarantee he’d be able to control it. 

“Stiles!” Derek called getting Stiles’s attention. “Can you hold it?” 

“I _have_ to,” Stiles said, his tone firm, his jaw set. Derek nodded, they had no other choice at this point and they both knew it. Derek reached out, curling his hand around Stiles’s neck and squeezing once before turning back to the house. 

“Little pig, little pig, let me in,” the sing song voice of Lilith, the Coven leader carried through the clearing as they emerged from the trees. 

“Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin,” Stiles shot right back and Lilith laughed, the sound cutting through Stiles like fingernails on a chalk board. 

“Look, the mutts left us a present,” she said as the rest of the coven spread out behind her then held up her hand and pushed. 

Stiles blocked her spell with ease. She hadn’t put a lot of power behind it, it was basically the equivalent of a smack upside the head. She’d been testing him. And apparently found him wanting. 

Her smile was all teeth as she took a step closer to him. “So baby’s got a spark,” She threw up both hands this time and Stiles’s breath caught as a wall of flames erupted, headed straight for him. It would overtake the house easily, raze the whole thing to the ground, and everyone inside. “Too bad I’ve got an inferno.” 

Stiles threw his hands up, an invisible barrier rippling as the fire slammed into it. The power behind it surprised him, sending him stumbling back a few feet, the flames advancing, but he caught himself and pushed back. 

The fire was scorching under his fingertips and Stiles could feel his whole body sweating, not just from the heat but the effort of keeping the shield up. He gritted his teeth against the pain and looked up, catching Lilith’s eyes. She wasn’t even breaking a sweat. 

Her eyes glistened as she narrowed them, pushing harder and Stiles crumbled to his knees. He reached out, grasping for the ley line, trying to connect to it, to pull on it. He could feel the power, pulsing just out of his reach, taunting him. 

“Little pig, little pig, let me in,” Lilith said again and Stiles screamed as the shield fell apart under his fingers, the fire engulfing him immediately. 

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Stiles shot up in bed, the ghost of a scream still on his lips as he forced air into his lungs, the taste of fire and ash still on the back of his tongue making his stomach heave in an attempt to wash it away. 

“I couldn’t hold it,” Stiles panted out, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried desperately to get his breathing under control. “I couldn’t hold it, I couldn’t hold it.” 

Strong fingers slid onto the back of Stiles’s neck, the grip strong and reassuring but loose enough of that if Stiles wanted to pull away, he could. A thumb rubbed soothing circles into his skin and Stiles shuddered, managing to finally suck in a deep breath. 

The fingers squeezed on Stiles’s neck, gently turning his head. “You did,” Derek whispered, dropping his forehead to Stiles’s, letting his breath puff against Stiles’s lips, coaxing him to match Derek’s breathing. “You held it, you held it.” He squeezed lightly and Stiles opened his eyes, his gaze locked on Derek’s. 

Stiles brought a shaky hand up to Derek’s cheek, needing to touch, to reassure himself that Derek was real, that he was there, that Stiles hadn’t killed him. 

“You held it remember,” Derek whispered against his lips. “Remember.” He said again more forcibly, squeezing Stiles’s neck one more time and Stiles nodded. 

  
“I remember now,” Stiles swallowed. 

_“Little pig, little pig, let me in,” Lilith said again and Stiles could feel his shield cracking, feel the flames as they danced along his fingertips._

_And then he felt a strong hand on his neck and lifted his head to see Derek kneeling beside him, staring into his eyes. “You can hold this,” Derek told him and Stiles nodded, screaming as he reached out again, latching onto the lay lines, letting the power surge through him as it exploded outward._

There had been nothing left of the coven but ashes. Along with a couple square miles of forest behind them. Stiles was in a coma for 13 days. He refused to work any magic for almost a year after. He still hasn’t been able to bring himself to access the ley lines in the three years since. 

“I remember now,” Stiles assured him, his body no longer stiff with tension as he melted into Derek’s embrace, allowing the other man to pull him back down to the mattress. Stiles wouldn’t go back to sleep that night. He never did after those night mares, just laid his head on Derek’s chest, listening to the sound of Derek’s heartbeat as his fingertips ran lightly over whatever skin he could reach. 

Derek grabbed his wrist, halting the movement, and bringing Stiles’s hand up to his eye line. Stiles tried to pull away but Derek’s grip just tightened, forcing Stiles to look up at him. Normally he wore gloves in public. It was easier than having to answer questions, or pretend he didn’t notice the staring. But at home he didn’t bother. There was no one here to judge him, to look at him in disgust or pity. That didn’t mean he liked it when Derek did this. 

Derek’s fingers traced the wrinkled twisting scars that covered Stiles’s palms, the only physical damage from Stiles one and only brush with ley line power. Stiles opened his mouth to tell Derek to stop but Derek just dropped a kiss to the tips of his fingers, one by one, before pressing his lips to center of Stiles’s palm. 

“Don’t.” Stiles whispered still self conscious of the burns after all these years. 

“You held it Stiles,” Derek told him again. “Now let me hold you.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Sometimes I [tumble](http://www.bella8876.tumblr.com/).


End file.
